radiant heat hydronic using 3/4 copper best placement

[vender]

Hello I am new to the site. I am trying to add a coil to the return line of my boiler. I was going to take some 3/4 coil copper and bend it to go on the outside of my flue pipe. Now I am not sure after reading some post. Is it better to go on the outside of the stove box or the flue pipe 6". I know this will be a lot of trial and error. A local heating installer said I could use all the boilers systems (expansion tank, pressure valve, pump). He said "its nothing new people in these parts do it all the time". So how do people do it? In europe you can buy a backboiler on the stove. I learned in doing all this its illegal to have a backboiler. I was going to put in a mixing valve to an exterior radiator to control the heat but I dont think the coil will heat the water that much?? Closed system. One circ pump. I just dont want to do an outside furnace, i think its overkill.

So
Whats the best place to put a water coil on a franklin wood stove?
Whats the best way to do this?

Thanks
Mark

 

[begreen]

I would say that it would be best not to do this with a Franklin fireplace. It lacks the degree of fire control that I would want for this system.

 

[Fred61]

Save yourself some money and aggravation and scrap the project now. Several have tried this and some have been successful but many have also experienced a steam explosion. Really bad when you are upstairs and you hear the pipes banging and popping in the basement but even worse if you are standing beside it.

 

[ddahlgren]

There are basic engineering problems with the idea. A boiler only runs when there is a demand for heat so it runs and dissipates the heat into radiators and stops for one of two reasons, either the demand is over or the high temperature limit switch stopped it. The wood stove knows nothing about demand and has no limit switch. In a perfect world if the temperature and pressure gets out of control the relief valve will open if not the pipes burst or boiler cracks.

I will limit comment on the franklin incinerator to if you want more heat get a stove that is current and the heating coil will not be needed anyway. I had one in the 80's I got for free had to assemble and burned pallets and it made us warmer as I was a broke single dad with 2 small kids so mortgage then food then utilities as far as money was concerned so I get it. Look for a decent used EPA stove and your wood will give much more heat.

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

Check out this website: www.Hydro-to-Heat-Convertor.com
If you don't have the technical back ground and mechanical skills, I suggest you steer away from it.

 

[MDFisherman]

http://woodheat.org/heating-water-with-a-wood-stove.html

Here's some good info

 

[vender]

I have the skills and background to make this work. I am just new to burning and hydronic heat. As my heating people tell me "its not rocket science". It can be done. They have got me going in the right direction but cant tell me more (lawsuits...) So no one is doing this? I just thought maybe someone had some ideas.
I am rewiring the circ pump to run 24/7. I need some kind of backup just incase the power goes out (gravity?). I really cant see the flue pipe heating the water to the boiling point. I am doing some test now. In europe this is the norm.


People are doing this its just done on the "down low" and I cant get any answers. I really looked into an outside boiler. I dont want an open system. I want the idea but on the inside and on a smaller scale. Closed system. The people who had the steam bombs are the people that have made it work and know what not to do.

Crap im gonna have to invent the wheel. I dont fear the small stuff. Youll never learn if you have fear.

Would a new EPA stove really be that much of an improvement? How do you move the heat around the house?

 

[vender]

http://woodheat.org/heating-water-with-a-wood-stove.html

Here's some good info

How are these legal? I see that they import them. I dont think they are legal in the states... I have read that EPA doesnt want us heating water with wood in the house??? Confused?? Good site Thanks.

 

[__dan]

You have received some good advice from people with specialized experience and knowledge, don't waste your time and money, don't do it.

Even if you spent the time and money to get a working system with some safety features (costly), the problem then would be efficiency, extracting enough heat to satisfy demand and matching load to the fire output. Too much load and you will be chilly, cold water showers (or burning oil). Not enough load and you make steam.

Efficiency is the biggest factor once you get something running. Do you want to spend your money on a 30% efficient system that burns ten cord or a 90% efficient system that burns three cord. Do you want an automated 20 year reliable system (campfire in a can), or do you want an occasional campfire and an occasional shower. Do you want to cut your oil bill by 20% or 99%.

A plumber friend, big boiler contractor, had a basement wood stove and plumbed his own iron pipe through it to extract heat for his house. It never worked. This was a long time ago, but he then bought a surplus conventional non gasifer wood boiler and put that in. As far as I know he uses that with oil, but clears land and burns a lot of wood.

The lowest cost system is one that has good design and implementation, built once right the first time. The highest cost system starts with bad design and is built many times as deficiencies are discovered when the product is implemented and put into service.

If you are intent on rolling your own wood hydronic, try copying the state of the art, which is the two stage burn downdraft gasifier with draft inducer fan and storage.

 

[__dan]

People are doing this its just done on the "down low" and I cant get any answers.

Most of the guys on this site are making their heat and DHW with wood. Many are no oil and have oil or propane backup. The system you indicated would extract 1 kW of heat to power 20 kW load and make 1 kw of steam when the load is zero.

 

[maple1]

What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

 

[vender]

What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

I have a 1896 American four square. I have a room at the back on the main floor with a Franklin stove. I have free wood (just labor). I am trying to move the heat.

Now I have good advice. Thanks all. So I am thinking of getting a new stove and running ducts and fans.

So now my question is will a new EPA stove be that big of a difference? And how are you all moving the heat?

 

[maple1]

Since you said (I think) you have a boiler - how are you moving heat now?

This is the boiler & furnace section - so we move heat by circulating hot water though pipes, or blowing hot air through ducts. If you're looking for stove info, try the stove section.

If you have a boiler now, you must have some rads? I would consider adding on something that is designed to burn wood and heat water - like a wood boiler. But we don't know anything (much) about your existing heating system.

 

[vender]

Since you said (I think) you have a boiler - how are you moving heat now?

This is the boiler & furnace section - so we move heat by circulating hot water though pipes, or blowing hot air through ducts. If you're looking for stove info, try the stove section.

If you have a boiler now, you must have some rads? I would consider adding on something that is designed to burn wood and heat water - like a wood boiler. But we don't know anything (much) about your existing heating system.

Huh this must have got moved. I posted this in the wood stove section??? anyway I have a very simple Weil Mclain boiler and the Franklin stove. One circ pump for 5 valved zones. All manual. An indoor wood boiler? Thats what i was trying to do... arghh.